Morality in Media is calling for a nationwide protest of Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network citing the reckless glorification of sexual violence and torture depicted on the network.
The season premiere of Lisa Ling’s Our America on OWN, Tuesday, portrayed the graphic depiction of “BDSM” sex (bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, and masochism) in an hour-long television show, replete with whips, chains, handcuffs and assorted tools of sexual torture.
“Women want to be loved, adored and cherished, not whipped, dominated and humiliated,” says Dawn Hawkins, executive director of Morality in Media. “Oprah and her OWN cable network seem desperate to bootstrap their flagging ratings to the tawdry and titillating world of sadomasochism portrayed in the bestseller, 50 Shades of Grey. This is purely trash TV and worse, it is entertainment likely to foster domestic abuse, primarily of women. I would have thought Oprah should lead the charge against such exploitation.”
At one time the promise of the OWN network was to empower women to live their best life, with inspiring stories of hope, courage and self-esteem. Lisa Ling’s Our America was not even in that ballpark.
“A responsible journalist would have at least mentioned that sadomasochism has long been recognized as a mental disorder in the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Sexual abuse of this nature is at the heart of the criminal acts of rape and sexual assault,” Hawkins says.
“So much of the pornography today is filled with sexual violence and humiliation of women, so it is not surprising that BDSM activities would find an audience. However, Morality in Media believes all women, children and men have a natural human dignity, and that programming of this sort is inherently dehumanizing, corrupts healthy relationships, and grossly distorts a proper view of human sexuality,” says Hawkins.
Morality in Media is asking the public to contact OWN to protest this glorification of sexual abuse and torture and return to the kind of uplifting programs that we expect from Oprah. Contact OWN through Morality In Media’s website by clicking here.
